Analysis
Democratic Security
CEE Fell Out of Love with Netanyahu. How About Israel?
8 May 2026
26 July 2025
While Viktor Orbán’s Tusványos speech missed the mark and his inner circle spent the summer retreat touting loyalty and brushing off economic hardship, Péter Magyar criss-crossed Hungary’s countryside, tapping into a quiet, growing resentment. From small-town forums to packed rallies, his movement is beginning to pry open cracks in Fidesz’s long-held rural dominance.
At the end of 2024, there were rumours about a snap election in Hungary. The following year’s national budget had funds reserved for electoral purposes, and opposition leader Péter Magyar amplified the gossip, saying that they’ll switch to ‘campaign mode’ in the new year to get ready for Viktor Orbán’s potential call for early elections, the first of its kind in post-Socialist Hungary.
The government downplayed the question as ‘farcical’ and set its sights on 2026. In hindsight, it might have been their only way to remain in power.